Ron's Desire

It was strange, to say the least.

The glowing red "string" didn't look very long, perhaps only two or three inches, yet it managed to connect the two ends of the ten-inch wand shaft, and it certainly wasn't a straight line.

Harry saw it clearly; the cross-section of the wood was carved with various symbols, all of which were emitting a faint red light.

He didn't know how much time had passed—it could have been minutes, or perhaps hours—but the "string" finally reached the end, and the two halves of the wand shaft snapped together instantly.

"Is it... done?" Harry's throat bobbed, his voice sounding somewhat dry.

"Not quite yet." Silvan didn't turn his head, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the wand before him as he waved a hand. "You'd better step back. I have no idea if it's going to explode this time."

No sooner had he spoken than Harry and the others stumbled backward. Neville and Seamus nearly collided—mostly because their legs had gone numb from standing for so long.

At that moment, they actually had thoughts of leaving, but before they could even reach the door, a violent grinding sound filled their ears.

Creak, creak, as if someone were sawing through wood.

Before their horrified eyes, the wand floated into mid-air and began to vibrate violently.

In a trance, Ron seemed to see the shadow of a strange creature.

It was about twenty inches tall, its grayish-brown skin as rough as a tree stump. Most striking was its head, which wore a scarlet hat that looked as if it had been soaked in blood.

The monster hissed, swinging a wooden club with all its might.

"Snap!"

Someone slapped his shoulder hard, and Ron jolted awake.

"Run, it's a Red Cap!" he shouted, reaching out to grab Harry.

"What are you talking about? What Red Cap?" A bewildered Harry was yanked hard and nearly fell over.

With no other choice, he, Seamus, and Neville had to work together to pin down the flailing Ron.

Through their combined efforts, Ron finally began to calm down.

It was the familiar dormitory, and the faint sound of laughter could still be heard from the common room.

"Where... where's the Red Cap?" he asked blankly, rubbing his eyes.

"What Red Cap?" Harry let go of his arm. "There's nothing here. What on earth is wrong with you?"

"But I clearly saw..." Ron rubbed his eyes again. "Did I see it wrong?"

"You didn't see it wrong," Silvan said, drawing everyone's attention.

He looked at Ron with interest, then glanced at the wand on the table.

"It's truly surprising. It should have exploded, but it miraculously completed the fusion, and you happened to see the original form of the core."

He picked up the wand.

[Holly wood, Red Cap nerve, ten inches]

[Status: Perfect]

[Traits: Hex success rate +5%; Blasting curse success rate +10%]

That was truly Merlin's beard.

Silvan's hand tightened slightly around the wand.

Two traits—though the bonuses were low and didn't even deserve a name, they were, by Merlin, two traits!

And both were positive attributes!

Silvan looked at Ron again, pondered for a moment, and handed the wand over.

"Want to give it a try?"

"Huh?" Ron blinked. "Me?"

"Yes," Silvan nodded.

Ron didn't overthink it; he stood up excitedly, wiped his hands, and took the wand.

He had dreamed of owning a new wand of his own.

Even if this wand wasn't his, it was at least new.

"Go ahead," Silvan said.

"Try what?"

"A spell, the one you're most familiar with."

"Oh." Ron licked his lips and cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow."

"Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

Hum...

A flash of light streaked before their eyes, and the originally brown table turned bright yellow in the blink of an eye.

"Oh, my god!" Ron covered his mouth, his face full of disbelief. "This spell is actually real!"

It wasn't just him; Harry's eyes were wide as well.

He had seen Ron use this spell on the train, but nothing had happened back then.

Why did it work now?

"It seems you and this wand are a perfect match," Silvan raised an eyebrow. "Considering buying it? I can give you a great discount."

"How much?" Ron's eyes lit up.

"Seven Galleons," Silvan said. "That's the price for all new students."

The light in Ron's eyes extinguished rapidly, and he reluctantly placed the wand back on the table.

"I don't have any money, not even seven Sickles." He hung his head, his face turning red.

"I'll pay for it!" The incredibly generous Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of shiny gold coins.

He had money—a small mountain of gold in his vault—and buying a wand for a friend was simple.

"No, don't!" Ron grabbed Harry's arm, his face turning even redder.

"Besides... I, I already have a wand. I don't need to buy another one."

If he hadn't kept glancing at the table while saying it, Harry might have believed him.

But since Ron refused, Harry couldn't force him.

"It's alright, I can hold onto it for you." Silvan reached out and took the wand, ending the standoff.

"I'll put it at Ollivanders Wand Shop later; you can go buy it whenever you like."

"Okay!" Ron licked his lips again and nodded vigorously.

"You have to save it for me," he added.

Seeing Silvan agree, Ron quickly returned to his usual self. He and the other three apologized to Silvan before leaving the dormitory.

The celebration wasn't over yet; they wanted to get something to eat and have a bottle of butterbeer.

The dormitory was left with only one person again.

Silvan took out the wand once more, recalling the process of the shaft and core fusing.

He was all too familiar with that violent vibration frequency and the ear-piercing noise; it was the absolute prelude to an explosion.

But at the very last second before the blast, all the anomalies had vanished.

Even more coincidentally, Ron had been able to see the Red Cap of the core.

This was a form of resonance that only occurred when a wizard and a wand were highly compatible during the crafting process; under normal circumstances, it was almost impossible.

After all, wandmakers always chose a quiet place to work, and there were usually no other wizards around.

Silvan's case was a special exception.

He hadn't expected it to succeed at all; he had done it purely to appease his classmates and find an excuse for himself.

He wanted them to see how dangerous his usual work was—that it could explode—so that not living in the same dormitory was for their own good.

Silvan had planned it well, but he hadn't expected it to actually succeed this time.

He had failed for a month, and yet he had finished it now!

"Because of Ron?" Silvan muttered to himself, thinking of that phrase he was tired of hearing.

The wand chooses the wizard...